Test drive: Mercedes GLA SUV

Mercedes-Benz finds the upside to downsizing with its all-new compact SUV

It might not be an out-and-out performance SUV, but the Mercedes Benz GLA can raise hell when commanded

Large barge SUVs, land yachts if you will, occupy a special place in the male psyche. For some of us, they’re the ultimate fantasy cars. We imagine barrelling down a highway in them, towering over low-slung sedans, parking them in front of our farmhouses where guests can’t miss them. They’re the wheels the alpha males in The Expendables drive. These beasts are not urban runabouts.

If I had any doubts, driving the Mercedes-Benz GL350 – a big honking SUV that’s five metres long and nearly two metres wide – a few weeks ago in Mumbai dispels them once and for all. As I hustle the 350 around the city, autorickshaws skip to the side of the road and tempos don’t dare cut into my lane. I’m occupying nearly the width of the two-lane road, and feel like a selfish brute, the kind I curse when I’m driving my everyday hatchback.

Then a few days later I test-drive MB’s smallest SUV, the compact GLA. If you’re wondering why Mercedes has decided to go small, and do so now, then you probably haven’t heard that luxury carmaker Bentley ditched the massive W12 engine and opted instead for a V8 on its 2014 Continental GT. Or that Porsche recently released the Macan, a far more compact version of its flagship Cayenne SUV. The writing’s on the wall: Downsizing is the trend – and this includes smaller engines, as well as more compact bodies. Carmakers are focusing on smaller, more efficient and cheaper rides that give you more bang for your buck.

But downsizing doesn’t necessarily mean you have to settle for less. The GLA may have been built on an A-Class platform, but it’s more than just a high-riding hatchback. From its thick grille slits up front, strong hips at the rear and crisp folds that run the length of the bonnet and the body to the high roof and flared wheel arches that shield the 18-inch alloys; this is a pedigreed SUV that doesn’t shout itself hoarse.

As I step into the GLA, I find there’s luxury, sans any grandstanding: a panoramic sunroof, leather seats, sat nav, a tablet-style display screen in the centre of the dashboard, Bluetooth connectivity and a 12-speaker Harman Kardon system.

As I wake up the diesel engine, the four cylinders emit a throaty rumble. The 200CDI I’m driving puts out a decent 134hp of power (the petrol variants deliver roughly 40 per cent more) and, frankly, that’s about as much beef as you’ll require when scooting through the city.

The GLA isn’t an out-and-out performance compact SUV, but it can be a hell-raiser when commanded. On a rain-soaked, arrow-straight empty stretch past the first tollbooth on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, I decide to floor it. The acceleration from naught on this four-wheel drive is frustratingly sluggish at first. But stay with it, and a few seconds later, once the seven-speed gearbox kicks down to the fourth or fifth gear, it unexpectedly lets loose like a lunatic who’s just speedballed a cocktail of meth, Viagra and whatever it is Miley Cyrus is on these days.

Mercedes may have been late to the compact SUV game – BMW’s X1 got here in 2010 and Audi’s Q3 followed two years later – but it’s made up for it by learning from where the competition fell short. The X1’s heavyset frame, though built solid like a tank, doesn’t allow it to be agile or nimble on the run, while the Q3’s base variants offer only the bare minimum, with the add-ons piling on a significant chunk to the final cost of the vehicle. Mercedes trumps its two competitors on both fronts. The GLA is not a scaled-down version of anything Mercedes has created before, and it packs in features like cruise control, rear-view cameras and electronically adjustable front seats with a memory function.

It’s the perfect ride, then, for the guy who’s looking to trade in his hatchback for an SUV that will offer him the convenience of additional space and improved rideability on Indian roads. The GLA has a commanding riding stance, ample place for three in the backseat and a boot that’s large enough to haul groceries and football kits. Like a hatch, though, it’s easy to park in tight spots and isn’t a road hog.

By 2015, it’s estimated one in every five luxury cars sold will be a compact ride. Mercedes has made it to the party in the nick of time. If it plays its cards right, it may just end up with the lion’s share of the spoils.